The Physique of the Ancient Hawaiians

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166 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

THE PHYSIQUE OF THE ANCIENT
HAWAIIANS

By Professor VAUGHAN MACCAUGHEY

COLLEGE OP HAWAII, HONOLULU, HAWAII

THE primitive Hawaiian type is rapidly vanishing. Like
many of the island peoples of the Pacific, contact with the
white race has wrought far more woe than weal. The Caucasian
vices were acquired with much greater facility than were the
sober virtues, and a variety of influences, racial and sociologic,
have led to the decimation of what was at one time one of the
finest peoples in the Pacific Ocean.

It is not the purpose of this paper to delineate the successive
stages in the extinction of the ancient Hawaiian, nor to analyze
the complex factors that have so rapidly undermined the race,
but rather to present a somewhat detailed sketch of the bodily
characteristics of the typical native in the prime of his " golden
age." The patheticaly rapid shrinkage of the native population
may be visualized from the following data. Captain Cook's esti-
mate in 1778, which may have been somewhat, although not
greatly, exaggerated, was 400,000. Five decades later, in 1823,
the census showed only 142,000. At the close of another decade
the native population dropped to 130,000, a shrinkage of 12,000,
or at the rate of 100 decrease per month. The next interval of
thirty-six years witnessed a frightful decrease of two thirds of
the total population, reducing the natives to 44,000. In 1900
there were but 30,000 ; the past ten years have brought a de-
crease of over 10,000, and to-day, in 1916, there are probably
not 16,000 pure-blooded Hawaiians.

The modern tourist who visits the Hawaiian Islands sees
very few of the pure-blooded natives; those in Honolulu, the
capital city, are very largely " part-Hawaiians " or hybrids, and
a very considerable percentage of the natives residing in outly-
ing districts have foreign blood. The official statement of popu-
lation as given in the last report of the Governor of Hawaii
(1915), records — in round numbers — 26,000 native Hawaiians
for 1910 and 24,000 for 1915, a decrease of 2,000, or over 7 per
cent, in five years. The mongrel or part-Hawaiian population
is given as 12,500 for 1910, and 14,800 for 1915, an increase of
2,200, or 18 per cent, for 5 years. It should be emphasized that

THE PHYSIQUE OF THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS 167

a large portion, perhaps thirty per cent., of the natives listed in
the above figures as " native Hawaiians " are not in fact, pure-
blooded Polynesians, but have varying proportions of mixed
blood. The natives have intermarried freely, both in and out of
wedlock, with all who came to their shores, since the days of the
first explorers, so that to-day it is practically impossible to ab-
solutely determine pure lines of descent.

In striking contrast with the degenerate mixtures that char-
acterize the modern native stand the records of the first ex-
plorers as to the splendid and beautiful physique of the prim-
itive Hawaiian. Captain Cook, the first English discoverer of
the islands, describes the chief Kane-ena as " one of the finest
men I ever saw. He was about six feet high, had regular and
expressive features, with lively dark eyes; his carriage was
easy, firm, and graceful." Bryan, in his "Natural History of
Hawaii," states :

At the time of the discovery of the Hawaiians they were physically
one of the most, striking native races in the world ... as a race they were
tall, shapely, and muscular, with good features and kind eyes. In sym-
metry of form the women have scarcely been surpassed, if equalled, while
the men excelled in muscular strength.

Anthropologists agree that the ancient Hawaiian was one of
the finest physical types in the Pacific, and compared very
favorably with the best types from any other part of the world.
They were tall and well developed, with splendidly shaped torsos,
and fine muscular limbs of excellent proportions. According
to measurements compiled by Topinard, the Hawaiians have
greater manual strength than the Micronesians, Australians,
Negroes, Iroquois, Chinese, French seamen, or American sol-
diers, and are only surpassed by the Iroquois in strength of
back. The average height was about five feet ten inches, and
many of the chiefs were over six feet. A skeleton from one of
the ancient burial caves measured six feet seven and three quar-
ters inches, and, as Bryan states, " there is sufficient evidence to
establish the fact that men of even larger stature were by no
means unusual."

The physique of the chiefs and their families was so superior
to that of the common people that some anthropologists have
thought them to be of a different tribe or race. The difference
is not to be accounted for in this way, however, but rather to
the excellent care taken of the children of the nobility, their
better food and other conditions of life, and their healthful
sports and exercises. The drudgery was done by the common

168 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

people and slaves ; the chiefs devoted themselves to the develop-
ment of bodily and mental superiority. Captain King (1778)
states :

Those [chiefs] whom we saw here were, without exception, perfectly
well formed; whereas the lower sort, besides their general inferiority, are
subject to all the variety of make and figure that is seen in the populace
of other countries. They seem to have very few native diseases among
them, but many of the chiefs suffer dreadfully from the immoderate use
of the awa.

The physical superiority of the chiefs is striking negative
evidence against the popular belief in the bad effects of in-
breeding. The chieftain class married habitually within itself,
very commonly within the same family. Frequently a chief
married his own sister, in order that the offspring might have
the highest rank. These very close intermarriages were a per-
manent policy of the Hawaiian nobility during a period of at
least many hundred years. There is absolutely no evidence of
deterioration of any sort. On the contrary, all who saw the
chiefly classes in the early days agree as to their striking bodily
and mental superiority.

The color of the Hawaiian was an olive-brown or rich brown,
never black nor conspicuously reddish. The common people,
who were constantly engaged in fishing, field labor, and the
like, were usually darker, through exposure to the weather,
than the chiefs and women of rank, who avoided the sun. The
variation in hue was considerable, ranging from a light coffee
brown to a dark reddish-brown. Occasionally there was a dis-
tinct olive tint. After intermingling with Europeans this range
of color was, of course, greatly accentuated with the varying
degrees of hybridism.

The skin of the healthy, well-kept primitive Hawaiian was
by no means unattractive. Coupled with their superb physique
it gave them the appearance of " burnished statues " or " bronze
Greek gods." It is a matter of common observation among
travelers that in the dark-skinned peoples the nude figure does
not give the impression of lack of clothing — there is absent that
glaring contrast which the white body exhibits when disrobed.
When the Hawaiians saw white men for the first time, they
thought that the latter were suffering from some serious skin
disease.

In the ancient regime the better class of natives kept their
skins in excellent condition, through daily baths in the sea and
in fresh water, and by oiling the body with coconut oil. The

THE PHYSIQUE OF THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS 169

cheeks of the young men and maidens were rosy, and the skin
gave every evidence of abounding vitality.

The chiefs and women of rank kept their skin and bodies in
perfect condition through an elaborate system of lomi-lomi or
massage. The body was stretched at full length on the mats,
and the operator (sometimes there were several operators)
gave an exceedingly thorough and vigorous massage, not only
rubbing, but also kneading, pressing, thumping, pulling, and
using a number of other motions peculiar to the art. The noble
person receiving the massage would commonly sleep during this
highly beneficial performance, which often lasted for several
hours.

Many of the chiefs and women of their families have been
remarkable, not only for their height, but also for their weight.
Four hundred pounds was formerly not unusual for one of this
favored class, and three hundred pounds was a prevalent weight
among the nobility. This corpulence was much more common
among the women that the men, and was due to a variety of
factors : (1) A diet consisting very largely of excessively starchy
foods, such as poi, bananas, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, etc.
Meat, chiefly in the form of fish and other marine animals, was
a distinctly minor item in the diet. (2) Habitual over-eating.
The Hawaiian nobility, like those of medieval European stocks,
were often gross feeders. Incredible quantities of food would
be consumed at a single meal. Gluttony was the prerogative of
aristocracy, very much as was intoxication. (3) An indolent
mode of life. As in other aristocracies, all the menial and pro-
ductive labor was performed by the lower classes ; the upper
stratum was provided with abundant leisure, which was com-
monly abused. (4) For the women, obesity was a part of the
ideal of feminine beauty, and was cultivated to a gross and
grotesque degree.

A distinctive character of the ancient Hawaiian, and of the
Polynesian peoples generally, was the ease and grace with which
the limbs were habitually moved. The gait of the men and
women alike was almost invariably graceful, smooth and dig-
nified. The stately deportment of the chiefs and priests is noted
by all the early explorers. The Polynesian mode of walking
lacked all of those nervous, jerky motions that are so charac-
teristic of many European peoples. The beautiful muscular de-
velopment, and the absence of nervous temperament, were alike
manifested in the tranquil poise and unhurried gait of the prim-
itive Hawaiian.

In the movements of the arms a similar grace and control

170 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

was distinctive. The gestures of the orator or chief were
smooth, sweeping, and as impressive and finished as those of a
cultivated white man. In the dances the arms played a very im-
portant part — many of the " dances " were performed by large
numbers of persons seated — and were moved with beautiful
rhythm. In those dances in which a large company partici-
pated the movements of each individual were coordinated with
extraordinarily precise harmony with those of the others, a
rhythmic precision far more accurate than that, for example,
of the modern Occidental ballet.

Tatuing has become wholly extinct. The art itself is for-
gotten, and there are now no tatued natives, nor have there
been for many years. The Hawaiian never developed systems
and patterns of tatu as elaborate as those of his South Sea
Island congeners, the Samoans and the Maoris. It is entirely
probable that the primitive Polynesians who were the first dis-
coverers of the Hawaiian Islands, and the progenitors of the
Hawaiian people, left the South Pacific dispersal center, Samoa,
before the art of tatuing had evolved to its final, highly elab-
orate designs. However that may be, the Hawaiians at the time
of the discovery by Europeans, were very sparingly tatued.
Tatuing appears to have been more prevalent on Kauai than on
the other islands of the group. It should be noted that the Kau-
aians were distinguished from the natives of the other islands
by a number of archaic traits and customs.

The Hawaiians had neither the complicated thigh- and hip-
tatuing of the Samoan, nor the ferocious facial tatuing of the
Maori. The art was confined largely to the males, and so far;
as the records show, was a prerogative of rank. Unlike the
Maori and Samoan women, the Hawaiian females do not appear
to have used the tatu, save for a curious custom which Captain
King records as follows :

The custom of tattooing the body they [the natives] have in common
with the rest of the natives of the South Sea islands, but it is only at New
Zealand and the Sandwich Islands that they tattoo the face. They have a
singular custom amongst them, the meaning of which we could never learn
— that of tattooing the tip of the tongue of the females. 1

Upon contact with Europeans the natives abandoned their
own modes of tatuing, and thus the records are very scanty.
The available evidence, however, indicates that the patterns
were much coarser and inartistic than those of the Samoans.
In many instances the markings were limited to a few spots on

1 The women also sometimes had the back of the hand marked with a
pattern somewhat similar to that of an open-work glove.

THE PHYSIQUE OF THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS 171

face, near the eyes or mouth. One famous chief, Ka-hekili, had
one side of his body, from head to foot, tatued, so that he ap-
peared half brown and half black, a pattern like a jester's cos-
tume. 2

There are no records indicating special symbolic significance
to the patterns, like those of the Bornean head-hunters. The
lowest class in the Hawaiian social system — the slaves or kauwa
— usually captives of war, were marked or branded on the fore-
head, but this seems to have been distinct from the tatu, and
was regarded as a sign of infamy or disgrace. The opprobrious
epithets, lae-puni and maka-wela, which were applied to the
slaves, have reference to the brand or mark.

The Hawaiian head was well formed, and closely resembled
that of the best European types in contour and proportions. It
rarely exhibited the deformities which characterize the skulls
of many primitive peoples. The skull was sub-brachycephalic
or " mesaticephalic " in type. The cephalic indices of a large
number of living " specimens " averaged 82.6. Those of an ex-
tensive series of skulls average 79.0, with a minimum of 75.0.
This range is similar to that found among the Chinese people.
The Hawaiian skull was never prognathous. Broca found
among the Hawaiians the highest orbital index that he had ever
observed. The jaws were of good proportions, resembling those
of European types, with well-formed chin and cheeks. Project-
ing or noticeably receding jaws were rare.

The hair was black or dark brown. It was straight, slightly
wavy, or curly ; never frizzy or kinky like that of the negro or
Papuan, nor lank like that of the Malayan. It was strong, and
usually of rather coarse texture; very fine texture was rare.
Old age brought gray or white hair; baldness was very excep-
tional. The hair of the women was long, but no unusual lengths
are recorded. There is no evidence to show that very long hair
was looked upon as a special attribute of feminine beauty.
Alexander states that " it was the fashion among the women to
wear the hair short in front and on the sides of the head, and
to turn up the edges on the forehead and temples with a wash
made of lime or white clay." The custom of heavily liming the
hair was not practised in the Hawaiian Islands as commonly
as in the South Pacific. The hair of the men was cut in a variety
of peculiar styles, sometimes with a mane-like crest over the
center of the crown, sometimes with long locks reaching down
toward the shoulders. The beard of the men was thin and

2 Tatuing was sometimes done as a token of mourning at the death
of a friend or chief.

172 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

sparse, and restricted chiefly to the chin and lips. In many in-
stances it was plucked out, as was the hair on the legs and arms.
The typical native man was smooth, and the chest was usually
lacking in the hairy growth characteristic of many Europeans.
Captain King states :

The same variety in the manner of wearing the hair is also observable
here as among the other islanders of the South Seas; besides which they
have a fashion, as far as we know, peculiar to themselves. They cut it
close on each side of the head down to the ears.

The face was moderately broad, with a kindly, open coun-
tenance, and features quite regular and often beautiful. The
young people of both sexes were, with few exceptions, good
looking, and the girls were often of striking and voluptuous
beauty. Captain King writes :

Many of both sexes had fine open countenances, and the women in
particular had good eyes and teeth, and a sweetness and sensibility of
look, which rendered them very engaging.

Bryan states :

In general, their features were strong, good humored, and in many
instances, when combined with their splendid physiques, produced a strik-
ing and impressive personality that gave the impression of their belong-
ing to a very superior race.

The profile was regular, not prominent, and usually pleasing.
In many instances it closely resembled the profiles of the higher
Caucasian types.

The nose was of good length, well shaped and arched. Fre-
quently it was somewhat flattened, due to artificial pressure and
massage in infancy, as a flattened nose was esteemed much more
highly than a pointed or protruding one. The practice of mas-
saging the newly-born babes, especially those of the nobility,
was general and elaborate, and was supposed to greatly influ-
ence the future beauty of the child. For example, the outer
angles of the elbows, particularly of the girls, were vigorously
massaged, as a sharply pointed or angular elbow was looked
upon as a very ugly characteristic.

The eyes were large, well formed, and expressive. Until
European mixtures were introduced they were invariably black.
Occasionaly the eyes were a trifle oblique, but this character
was comparatively rare, and apparently of no anthropologic sig-
nificance. The lashes and eyebrows were black, well-formed,
and often quite long. Many of the younger women had beau-

THE PHYSIQUE OF THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS 173

tif ul eyes. As indicators of character the Hawaiian's eyes were
typically kind, cheerful, mild and generous. The crafty, cruel,
bloodthirsty, and lustful types occurred, of course, as they do in
any human society, but under ordinary conditions they were
distinctly in the minority, and did not represent the normal
Hawaiian life. The eyes of the ancient Hawaiian chief of good
character were as fine and expressive as those of a high-grade
European. Those of many of the women were notably bright,
clear, and attractive. The ability of the primitive Hawaiian
as a sailor and a woodsman indicates that the power of vision
was well developed, although not to any remarkable degree.
There is no indication that he possessed the keenness of vision
customarily ascribed to such peoples as the American Indian
and the Australian aborigine.

The Hawaiian mouth was well formed. The lips were usu-
ally of medium thickness, frequently voluptuosuly thick and
everted ; rarely thin. The upper lip was usually a trifle shorter
than the lower, giving to the mouth a peculiar, not unpleasant,
and easily recognizable, racial form. The thick lips, particu-
larly of the younger women, were well molded and attractive.
Like the eyes, the mouth was typically indicative of kindness,
mildness, and generosity. The tight, pursed, narrow mouth was
very rare.

The teeth were excellent in shape and arrangement, and of
a glistening pearly whiteness. The beautiful teeth of both the
men and the women are frequently mentioned by the early ex-
plorers. The beauty was often defaced by a curious custom of
knocking out one or more of the front teeth as a token of grief
upon the death of some friend or chief; in many instances the
middle-aged and older people would lack many of the front
teeth, both upper and lower, as a result of this senseless custom.

It is not the purpose of this paper to exaggerate the physical
excellences of the primitive Hawaiian, nor to give the impres-
sion that splendid manly physique and sensuous feminine beauty
were universal. As in all human communities, Hawaii also had
the ugly, the maimed, the dwarfed, the diseased, the weaklings.
Many of the older women were veritable hags ; many of the older
men were disfigured by dissipation or by drudgery. Captain
Cook described a chief named Koa, who " was a priest, and had
been in his youth a distinguished warrior. He was a little old
man, of an emaciated figure ; his eyes exceedingly sore and red,
and his body covered with a white leprous scurf, the effects of
an immoderate use of the awa." In general, however, the people
seemed to be remarkably free from disease or bodily disfigure-

174: THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

ment; it was not until the vile venereal diseases of the white
sailors and traders began to spread among the people, that de-
terioration set in. These and other Caucasian diseases, the in-
ordinate use of the liquors plentifully supplied by the white man,
and a variety of other debasing influences undermined the con-
stitution of the people with astonishing speed; thus the prim-
itive Hawaiian, with fine physical and mental traits of the
greatest promise, is disappearing, and in a few years will have
vanished forever.